Microbes and humans: the long dance.

In a world where the determinants of health and the transfer of health risks are globally interdependent, infectious diseases constitute a global threat that puts every nation and every person at risk. History has amply demonstrated that communicable diseases are inescapably relevant to humankind, advances in modern science notwithstanding. This timeless dance between humans and microbes began in the distant past and will continue well into the future. As global health challenges reveal our interdependence, they demand collective consensus and action. International public health legislation provides an important tool to achieve shared goals. In 2005, the World Health Assembly approved profound revisions of the 1969 International Health Regulations (IHR) that create a new multilateral legal framework for global disease surveillance, notification and response.1 The revised IHR move away from a historical, and often stigmatizing, diseasespecific system of notification to require reporting of all public health emergencies of international concern, including events or hazards from communicable diseases, biological, radionuclear and chemical agents. Further, a fundamental change in surveillance practices to include the use of information other than official state notifications allows for a more sensitive and proactive system of detecting events and outbreaks. The revised regulations officially come into force on 15 June 2007. Their successful implementation requires not only national investments in public health capacity but a shared global commitment to transparency and compliance in reporting health-related events. The trans-boundary spread of public health emergencies is best addressed through multilateral cooperative efforts. The control of the SARS outbreak in 2003 was as much a testament to global solidarity in outbreak containment as it